Detroit cancels bus runs Monday, cites `sick out'

DETROIT (AP) — Operators of Detroit’s public buses say riders may have to find another way to get around Monday because of what officials say is a threatened “sick-out” protest by unionized drivers.

The union says it isn’t behind the job action and can’t do anything if drivers call in sick.

A recording on the Detroit Department of Transportation’s phone line Sunday evening says that the union has “scheduled a sick out Monday” and “bus service will not be in operation.”

Fred Westbrook is president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 and tells The Detroit News his union plans a rally at 10 a.m. Monday at the Coleman Young Municipal Building to protest a rash of violent attacks on bus drivers.